At this time.

Other than "Jay Cutler trade," no three words could have more of an effect on the Bears' chances of unseating the Minnesota Vikings as NFC North champions next season.

Those words came near the end of Brett Favre's annual spring insistence Tuesday that he was really, really, this-time-he-means-it retired for good.

"Nothing has changed," Favre said in a statement after the Jets officially released him. "At this time, I am retired and have no intention of returning to football."

At this time.

That only means stay tuned till July.

Consider the NFL's most tired reality show back in production.

It might get silly, again, but Favre becoming a free agent surely is significant around the league — especially in Chicago.

The Bears easily have enjoyed the best off-season among NFC North teams thanks to the Cutler trade and signing of left tackle Orlando Pace. The Vikings, meanwhile, signed Sage Rosenfels to compete with Tarvaris Jackson at quarterback. As dangerous as the choice of first-round game-breaker Percy Harvin made the Vikings' offense, quarterback remains a question mark in Minneapolis.

Yes, they have Adrian Peterson and Bernard Berrian and now Harvin around an offensive line still solid despite losing center Matt Birk to free agency. But the mental asterisk attached to any optimism surrounding the Vikings remains necessary given the lack of consistency of Rosenfels and/or Jackson.

At 39, Favre might be inconsistent too and could be limited in any comeback attempt by a torn biceps tendon that hampered him at the end of 2008.

But in Minnesota's offense, playing for coach Brad Childress and buddy Darrell Bevell, the Vikings offensive coordinator, the mere presence of Favre probably would concern opposing defensive coordinators more than any Sagvaris RosenJackson combination.

For three-fourths of last season with the Jets, he was one of the AFC's best quarterbacks. As bad as his final month was, Favre still made the Pro Bowl team along with Cutler. And he's also the same age as Kurt Warner, who the Cardinals think can take them back to the Super Bowl.

Without a doubt, Favre would give the Vikings a legitimate deep arm to get the ball to Berrian, something they currently do not have no matter who is the starting quarterback. He would join a team with a better defense than he had in New York. He would be in a controlled indoor environment for home games more conducive to his aging body than the Meadowlands was.

He might be the missing piece to a team that might just be one player away from being NFC favorites.

Wouldn't it be dramatic if gunslingers Favre and Cutler—who have more in common than just being Bus Cook's clients—took their respective teams in a showdown for the NFC North title next season?

Roll your eyes if you wish, but the possibility cannot be ruled out.

Everybody around the NFL understands the necessity of parsing Favre's "at this time" language. Believe Favre is really, truly retired this time only when the NFL opens its 2009 season next September and he is either in a studio or on a tractor instead of behind center in a purple No. 4.

Why else would Favre's agent request his release from the Jets, who don't care what Favre does after they drafted Mark Sanchez with the fifth overall pick? Why else use the phrase "have no intention," of returning to football instead of "won't."

Favre wanted to play for the Vikings last year when he came out of retirement, and his main motivation was to stick it to the Packers for telling him he would have to beat out Aaron Rodgers if he returned.

The Packers were so worried about that possibility of Favre making the Vikings into Super Bowl contenders and creating a PR nightmare in Green Bay that they inserted a clause into the Jets trade. It would have cost the Jets three first-round draft picks to trade Favre to any NFC North team.

The Bears no longer need to ponder such a possibility or chase the dream because of Cutler.

But they'd better hope Cutler is the biggest-name quarterback to join the division.